Picture supplied by Anastasia Vetkovskaya /Kennel Club/Bav Media 07976 880732. A photo of a stunning Saluki by Anastasia Vetkovskaya from Russia came first in the Portrait section A stunning picture of a dog surrounded by magnolia has come top in the annual Dog Photographer of the Year contest. The photo of rescue dog Merlin was chosen as the overall winner in The Kennel Club's international competition, which received almost 7,000 entries from more than 70 countries. Denise Czichocki, from Switzerland, who took the photo of her 14-year-old Podengo, said: "I am really proud and overwhelmed, I still can't believe it! There are so many good photographers out there and I won this title, it is absolutely amazing. "I have always loved to take pictures of everything, and my passion for dog photography started when I had my own, I wanted to create lovely memories of all of them. Over the years I have developed my photography to become more emotional." The contest had 10 categories: Portrait, Man's Best Friend, Dogs At Play, Dogs At Work, Puppy, Oldies, I Love Dogs Because - for entrants aged between 12 and 17 years old - Young Pup Photographer - for entrants aged 11 and under - and Assistance Dogs and Rescue Dogs. SEE COPY CATCHLINE Winners of Dog Photo of Year comp